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Why do you suggest Cottonwood Pass over Lakes? I knew they are both options, just have not planned in that much detail yet. I might do Pass just because I have done the Cottonwood Lakes in the past.

I think I might still try and get a Happy Isles permit and do it the traditional way, but Cottonwood Pass seems like a good plan B.

Check especially the week or two before your trip.

Interesting question. The slope is too gentle in the first half, and then too blocky and rugged in the second steeper half. In fact, some years back, when it was nearly dark, a hiker missed that switch-back in the trail about the middle of your arrow, and tried to continue eastward. It took them days of searching before they found the body.

Took a nice 2-night outing in the Cottonwood Lakes basin. Trekked around the Cottonwood Lakes and South Fork Lakes as well.

Lots of snow above 11,400 feet, especially on the north slopes. Hardly any below that elevation. Horseshoe Meadow Road is open, with the last gate open. There were not many people at the Cottonwood Pass parking lot, but a moderate number at the New Army Pass parking lot.

The Old Army Pass (OAP) trail is currently inaccessible (snow/Ice) and will remain so until at least the end of June. There is a direct route to the top of OAP, but only for those who possess a considerable amount of mountaineering skills. I have climbed this approach a few times in the past. It's steep but doable. DO NOT TAKE THE TRAIL. See pictures below.

New Army Pass (NAP) currently has the typical cornice and can be bypassed if you know how to route find and possess a good amount of mountaineering skills. Please take a look at the pictures below.

This trip was primarily focused on backpacking and creating content for my channel, so I didn't have the time to reach the top of either pass.

Since these passes are the traditional way to reach Mt Langley, CRAMPONS AND AN ICE AXE MUST BE USED TO REACH THE TOP OF EITHER PASS. NO MICRO SPIKES. From there, Langley can be summited without the use of mountain climbing tools.

Safe travels!

Pictures on flickr

From the SEKI wilderness permit website: https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/wilderness_permits.htm:
Walk Up Wilderness Permits (Quota Season)
Step 1: Plan Your Trip
Decide where you want to go by looking at Trail Descriptions, the Park Atlas and Trail Conditions. Find the name of and quota limit for your desired trailhead on the Wilderness Trip Planner, entry quota map, or at Recreation.gov.

Step 2: Permit Issuance and Payment
Walk-up permits can be obtained starting from 1:00pm the day before your trip begins. Permits are only issued?during hours of operation by trailhead rangers who provide important area information.

You must arrive at the correct trailhead desk for the trailhead you are hoping to obtain a walk up permit for. Bring your entire party to the orientation.

You will pay the fee of $15 per permit plus $5 per person at the issuing station. Credit cards are the preferred payment method. Trailhead rangers will not be able to make change for transactions.

On your desired entrance date, once all of the quota for walk up permits is taken, a list will be started for permits that become available if a reserved party does not show up by the 10:00 am deadline. These no-show permits will become available for first-come first-serve walk ups.

different locations/jurisdictions have different permit policies. Using the wayback machine online I looked at the page for 2019 and that was prior to them using recreation.gov (they still had permit applications you had to email as an attachment) it appears that the current process for walkups being in person only for SEKI was in place in at least since 2021 when things fully reopened after covid based on looking at a handful of website captures there.